The Tale of the Black Sisters
by nutMeghanS
Summary: This is about Andromeda Tonks and how she was disowned from the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. It includes flashbacks from earlier times and some is told from Narcissa's point of view. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

This is the untold stories of how the Black sisters grew apart. I will update regularly.

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Andromeda walked through the barren streets of Hogsmeade, cradling her grandson Teddy. In the distance stood the Hogwarts castle. The destruction was incredible - parts of the walls were broken and crumbling as though blown apart, and everything was eerily silent. Andromeda shuffled slowly, knowing exactly what would await her there. Her sobs were all gone, her tears all dried out, but the grief would never fade from her hollowed heart. The Battle of Hogwarts was finished, Lord Voldemort and the Death Eaters destroyed. Deep down she was happy he was gone. But all of her loved ones had died except for Teddy, attempting to make the world a better place. They had succeeded, however they lost their lives in the process. But although she missed the ones her were the most close to her, her daughter, son-in-law and husband, there was another she mourned also. Even though she had given the deathblow to Andromeda's own daughter, she missed her sister Bellatrix. Though she knew that Bella had been corrupt and evil, that she'd killed hundreds of muggles and wizards alike, and that she probably deserved to die, Andromeda just couldn't erase the image of the sister she knew when she was younger.

Were there ever better sisters than the Black sisters? Though they had their differences, the Black sisters were the best of friends in their younger years. Sure, Bellatrix could be a little crazy; she always had that extra gleam of mischief, or that longing for trouble that made her a bit frightening to the others. She had that sort of young boyish madness – Andromeda had a vague memory of Bella pulling the wings off of butterflies for the sheer joy of it. But Bella was their sister, and they loved her nonetheless.

And perhaps Andromeda's acceptance towards Muggles and Muggle-borns was a bit too strong for the liking of the Black family. Though her other sisters were the wonderful pureblood enthusiasts her parents had hoped for, Andromeda had always been kinder to Muggle-borns. However, her family would have none of it, and remained as 'Toujours Pur' as ever. But her sisters didn't really care so much about Andromeda's point of view, and simply dismissed it without caring.

And maybe Narcissa could be a bit too vain at times. Narcissa was very beautiful – gorgeous, you could say. And she knew it. Narcissa didn't have any other real skills besides her beauty. She always found school difficult - her mind tended to wander in class, and she just couldn't concentrate. Her charms and jinxes were feeble, her potions improperly brewed. She wasn't the best Quidditch player either, as her reflexes were slow and she hated to have her hair flow in the breeze – she had to fix it every second. But she was easily the prettiest girl in her year – perhaps in the school – and attracted boys like flies. At home she was quiet and reserved, and spent hours dawdling on her looks, using the talking mirror her Aunt Cassiopeia had given her and the jewel-encrusted brush from Rabastan Lestrange. But her sisters didn't mind, so long as she didn't string along too many boys at one time.

The Black sisters accepted each other for who they were, despite their flaws. Because back then, the flaws were minor. They only caused little spats, not real arguments or fights. They didn't cause the huge rifts that would tear the sisterhood apart. Those would come later.

Andromeda thought back to an earlier time, when things were simpler. It was Bellatrix's 11th birthday party, the night before she would go off to Hogwarts. It was a Black tradition to invite all of the respectable pureblood families of the area as a celebration of a new Black family student. It was more of party for Cygnus and Druella than it was for Bellatrix, and the three sisters bonded together to evade the torture.

"Ooh, do I get one?" squealed a seven-year-old Narcissa. She was looking at Bellatrix's new hair ribbons - one green, the other black, in honor of their surname. As usual, Narcissa had to have a gift too, or she'd shriek and cry about how no one loved her and no one appreciated her. And also as usual, she would have been completely wrong.

"Yes, of course you do, darling," replied their mother, Druella Rosier Black. "Here are yours." She handed Narcissa a black ribbon the same as Bellatrix's, and an ice-blue one, precisely the same color as her eyes. Narcissa squealed with delight, and attempted to tie her hair into mismatched pigtails.

Andromeda sat patiently, wondering if she'd get hair ribbons too. It was very possible she wouldn't, as she had recently been in trouble for befriending a neighbor Muggle girl named Stephanie. To the Blacks, this was unacceptable, and she'd been grounded for the past week. But her mother handed her two ribbons as well, one the same black, the other a vibrant shade of pink. Andromeda smiled with happiness, and quickly braided the ribbons into her bouncy brown curls.

Andromeda watched Narcissa fumble clumsily with her ribbons, and walked over to help her. "Here, Cissy," said Andromeda kindly, taking the blue ribbon from her. "I'll do it for you." She started to gather the right side of her hair, and braided the ribbon into it.

"Thanks, Dromeda!" Narcissa said brightly. "But what about the other side?"

Bellatrix hurried over. "Don't worry Cissy, I can do it for you," said Bella, with a hint of exasperation. She took the black ribbon, just like hers, and braided it into the other half of her hair.

Cissy beamed at her reflection in the mirror, her waist-length blonde hair braided into the two ribbons like Dromeda's. Bella struggled with her wild, untamed black curls, but used the green and black ribbons to make the hairstyle of her sisters.

"I look beautiful," cooed Cissy, but she blushed when she saw the amused looks of her sisters. "I mean, we look beautiful," she hastily corrected herself.

"I can't believe you're going off to Hogwarts, Bella," said Dromeda, with an air of sadness. "I'll miss you."

"You will tell us everything that happens, won't you?" said Narcissa, her ice-blue eyes wide like saucers.

"Of course I will," said Bella arrogantly. "It's going to be awesome at Hogwarts."

"And you'll write letters every day?" asked Cissy pleadingly.

"Well, not every day," said Bellatrix, and her sisters momentarily looked alarmed. "I'll be busy! But I will tell you everything."

"Even when you get into trouble?" said the hardworking and studious Andromeda.

"Especially when I get into trouble," Bella replied, with dare and mischief in her eyes.

The sisters pulled each other close into a group hug. "You won't forget us, will you?" questioned Cissy fearfully.

"Never," said Bella. "Sisters forever."

"Sisters forever," they'd replied.

Andromeda was torn back into reality, and found that her eyes were wet one again. How did everything go so wrong? How did Bellatrix go from being her best friend to her worst enemy? How did sweet Narcissa turn so cruel and cold?


	2. Chapter 2

Hi, this one is a little bit boring, but it's necessary to the plot. The next one is better though, so stick with me!

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Perhaps the first signs of change had started that very next day, when Bella went off to Hogwarts. From the instant the Sorting Hat touched her head, she'd been placed in Slytherin. She'd found school simple from day one, easily mastering charms and brewing potions. Her spells were strong and powerful, and she excelled at everything. In fact, she may have been the best student in the year, if she hadn't gotten into so much trouble. Immediately after she'd learnt her first jinxes, she'd started challenging her fellow students to midnight duels. She enjoyed playing cruel pranks on Muggle-borns, and teased them in the hallways. She was bold and brazen, truly a teacher's worst nightmare. School wasn't enough of a challenge, and she sought other activities to capture her short attention. That's why the Dark Arts were so fascinating to Bellatrix. She related to their Muggle-hating opinions, and she loved the forbidden, dark spells. She snuck into the library at night to read the restricted books she could never get permission for, and practiced the wicked spells with a few other friends. Already they liked talking about the Death Eaters, and longed to be them when they were older.

Next to go to Hogwarts was Dromeda, just one year after her sister. She'd been studying for months, worried about the school year to come, and stressed herself out over what Bella had been so relaxed about. The sorting hat took ages to decide her house. She had the brave chivalry of a Gryffindor, the loyalty and kindness of a Hufflepuff, the brains and love of learning of a Ravenclaw, and the resourcefulness and ambition of a Slytherin. Truthfully Dromeda would have loved to be a Ravenclaw, with her great desire to learn, but she knew there would be hell to pay if she was not in Slytherin. So, she dutifully requested it, and the sorting hat sent her off to Slytherin with a warning that she would not be entirely happy.

And she wasn't. Dromeda had a handful of friends in other houses, but very few in Slytherin. For the most part, she was alone. She was a bit of an outcast in Slytherin. They called her a freak for her occasional Metamorphmagus abilities – they were slight, but sometimes she just couldn't control them. Most of her housemates did not agree with her point of view on Muggles and Muggle-borns, which made her unpopular. But Dromeda didn't really care. She greatly excelled at most subjects, in particular Herbology, Potions, and Charms. She got the best grades of the year, and was perfectly happy with that.

The last of the Black sisters was Narcissa, three years after Dromeda. She, too, was quickly sorted into Slytherin. At home, Narcissa was chatty and sweet, and made a bit of a fuss to get what she wanted. But at Hogwarts, she became a different person. Her looks attracted the attention of many boys, and she pranced through the school like a princess. Though initially quiet and shy, she soon gained confidence. This did not, however, make her more outgoing. On the contrary, she adopted a regal bearing, walking with her chin held high and her looks perfected to the utmost of beauty. Rather than going by the nickname Cissy, which her sisters had affectionately called her, she preferred to be called Narcissa. Though at home she was the sweet girl who loved her family more than anything, at home she had almost every boy in Slytherin asking her out on a date. However, though she had the pick of the pack, she had eyes only for one Lucius Malfoy, a year older than her. Ironically, he was the only boy who did not seem attracted to her. He too was a member of the Death Eater gang, along with Bellatrix's boyfriend Rodolphus Lestrange, and greatly believed in blood purity. Narcissa was neutral about the 'Toujours Pur' point of view, but upon hearing this, changed her behavior to attract the attention of Lucius.

The sisters had gotten along well in their youth, but at Hogwarts things started to fall apart. Each sister went down a different path, and spent their time with different people. They started bickering over small things at first, like each other's friends and things. But soon the bickering gave way to larger arguments about larger topics, like the importance of blood purity, the Death Eater ways, and other tough topics.

Andromeda thought back to the moment that had changed her life forever – the moment she met Ted Tonks.


	3. Chapter 3

My sister Sandra, or SSS-love2read, helped me with some of the romance. Isn't it kind of sad that my younger sister is better at writing romance than me?

* * *

It was after a particularly nasty little spat she'd had with Bellatrix, concerning Molly Prewett. Bellatrix had been scolded by the older prefect for ridiculing a muggle-born girl, and she'd been bad-mouthing Molly before Andromeda suggested that she was, in fact, a prefect, and it was her job to stop those kinds of fights. Well, Bella hadn't received this well, and now Andromeda was sitting alone in the library, doing her potions homework two days early.

Except, she wasn't alone. At another table sat Ted Tonks, also by himself.

Though Andromeda wasn't the muggle hating, pureblood enthusiast that her sisters were, she wasn't exactly on good terms with any muggle-born children. She knew how much it enraged Bellatrix and offended her family, so she tended to avoid them if possible. She wasn't cruel to them, like Bellatrix, or haughty to them, like Narcissa, but she wasn't exactly friendly either. Dromeda knew how annoyed her family would be if she seemed to be engaged with a Mudblood. So she tended to stay away.

But it wasn't enough. She was still the middle child, the one who was never good enough, the one who just couldn't seem to live up to the expectations of her sisters. She could never be like them, with their muggle-hating ways and pureblood preference. She just wasn't like that. And her family couldn't accept that.

Dromeda saw a spot of water on her potions paper, and realized that it was one of her tears. She hastily tried to stop her crying, but she could not. She had blocked her sadness for too long, and now it was coming out.

Dromeda was startled to find that there was a hand on her shoulder. A hand that was not hers. She looked up, to the concerned face of a Hufflepuff boy she'd seen around school.

"Um, are you all right?" he asked, seeming concerned but a bit awkward. "I mean, hi. I'm Edward Tonks, but you can call me Ted."

Dromeda knew who he was. Two years older than her, Ted was a Hufflepuff prefect, one of the chasers for their Quidditch team, and, unfortunately, Muggle-born. Dromeda wasn't quite sure what to do now. She could be mean to the Muggle-born, like she was supposed to, but that wasn't her. She could haughtily ignore him, but he was being nice, and it didn't seem fair. But she couldn't just talk openly with a Muggle-born. What would her family think? They'd think she was a blood traitor, like those infamous Weasleys. Bellatrix would shout, Narcissa would ignore her uneasily, and she'd probably get Howlers from her parents. Could she do that to herself?

Well, it was impulsive, stupid, and downright rebellious (from the Black family's point of view), but Dromeda was sad and lonely, and feeling abandoned by her cruel older sister. So she decided that she'd be friendly to him. Just talking, that was all. Perhaps she'd just subtly convince him to go away, without being mean. No one was there, right? So no one would know. It was nothing, really.

"I'm fine," she replied, hesitantly. "I'm just – having family problems. It's nothing." She hoped that maybe he would be discouraged and leave her alone.

"Oh. That's too bad." It appeared he would not go away that easily. "I guess you could say I'm having family problems myself, so I know how it goes."

"Well, I'm sorry about that," said Dromeda, uncomfortably reminded that his family was made of Muggles. She needed to get away, and quickly, before anyway saw that a Black, of all people, was chatting with a Mudblood. "I'm sorry, I have to go. I, er, need to go talk to my sister." She started hurriedly packing her potions book into her bag, and trying to find where the library book went.

But Ted wasn't finished. "Okay, I'll help you pack up, then," he said. Dromeda was surprised at his kindness, as she'd had such scarce amounts of it. But she let him help her pack and put away library books. As they did so, they chatted some more, and Andromeda actually found that she liked him, much to her astonishment and guilt (she was still a Black). And when he asked if she wanted to study with him again the next night, she involuntarily said yes.

Thus began Dromeda's secret, her small little friendship with Ted Tonks. It was limited only to studying in the library after class, but nonetheless, he became a good friend of Dromeda's. Deep down though, she kept feeling that gnawing guilt in her stomach from mingling with the Muggle-born. She knew that this wasn't how a Black should act.

But she ignored that, and continued with her friendship. However, one day the relationship changed drastically.

Dromeda remembered that day forever. It was just after they'd worked on some of her Defence Against the Dark Arts homework, which she'd always found difficult. Dromeda was good at many subjects, but something about D.A.D.A. was extremely difficult for her. They were practicing the spell Expelliarmus, which no matter how hard she tried, Andromeda just couldn't get right.

"Ex-expelliarmus!" Dromeda tried to say the spell. Ted's wand jerked a little bit out of his hand, but he caught it again easily. Dromeda sighed. "It's no use," she said, down-spirited.

"Don't say that," Ted tried to lift her spirits. "I'm sure you can do it! Just try again."

'Ex-expell-expellimus!" But unfortunately, the slight change in pronunciation suddenly made Ted's wand jump out of his hand and clock him on his forehead. He toppled over in surprise, and Dromeda rushed over to help him.

"Are you okay?" she asked, concerned. Ted groaned as she helped him, and a bump was already swelling just above his left eyebrow. "I guess," he grunted slightly as he shakily sat up. "That wand really has it out for me, though."

"I'm so sorry!" Dromeda exclaimed, but Ted dismissed her apology. "Don't worry about it," he said good-naturedly. "Anyone could have made that mistake. Just remember – it's ex-pell-i-arm-us."

"Shut up," Dromeda muttered, and poked him playfully. All of a sudden, she realized what she was doing – her arms were around him, and her other hand was pressed against his forehead. She suddenly felt awkward, and quickly moved away. Instead she outstretched her hand and helped Ted get to his feet.

"I guess we should probably stop for the night," said Andromeda regretfully. "We don't want any more injuries, do we?"

"Oh, come on. Just one more go!" said Ted enthusiastically, though he stumbled a little from the bump on his head.

"But look at you!" Dromeda exclaimed, regarding the quickly-forming bruise on his forehead. "I don't want any more injuries."

"Fine. But I bet you can do it. Just try!"

Dromeda looked at Ted's optimistic face. She sighed. "Oh, okay. I'll try again."

She held her wand out and tried to concentrate on the spell, repeating in her mind several times. Finally she shouted, "Expelliarmus!"

Ted's wand flew out of his hand. Suddenly they were both beaming, and Ted pulled Dromeda into a hug. She was ecstatic, but not just because she'd finally mastered the difficult spell. She'd never hugged Ted before, and found to her surprise that she liked it.

Unfortunately, he pulled away, and they stood face to face. He smiled a careless half-smile that made Dromeda's heart melt. "That was awesome!" he said, clearly proud of her. Andromeda smiled back, also happy.

Something in Ted's expression changed, and suddenly, he was leaning towards her. They were so close; there was no time for Andromeda to over-think things (as she often did), there was no time for her to move away, no time for her to say no, before Ted's soft lips were on hers. It was a hesitant kiss, but a sweet one nonetheless.

Forgetting everything her family stood for, forgetting that she should not even be in the company of a muggle-born, Dromeda began to kiss back. Her lips molded to his as she lost all senses. His arms wrapped around her waist, gently pulling her close.

Too soon, Ted pulled back; a spark in his eyes such as she'd never seen before. He smiled hesitantly, and Dromeda felt herself blushing. But it was the start of something – something that would change Dromeda's world forever.

And so the relationship between her and Ted – now forever something entirely different – became Dromeda's precious little secret. But secrets never stay secret for long, of course…


	4. Chapter 4

Hi again! Sorry about the delay, my Wifi completely crashed and I could not upload this. Enjoy!

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Narcissa walked along the almost-empty corridors, strutting along like she was some sort of model. And she was – even at twelve years old, it was clear that Cissy was beautiful. She loved the attention she got from boys and the jealousy from other girls, so she preened and pranced along like a princess. And with her perfectly pure background, she might as well have been royalty. Cissy loved it.

As she strutted along, Cissy noticed that there were two people ahead of her – a tall boy, and a shorter girl with curly brown hair, both holding hands. Cissy shuddered inwardly. She didn't really want to hold hands with anyone – it would be so sweaty and gross. But, she guessed that she wouldn't mind holding Lucius Malfoy's hand. Of course, he seemed to be the only boy that didn't find her stunning.

Suddenly, the girl turned, and her identity was revealed – it was Andromeda! Andromeda, Narcissa's own sister, was holding hands with someone. And she hadn't even told Cissy and Bella! Narcissa was annoyed, but moved by an overwhelming sense of curiosity. Who was this boy, that Dromeda was so unwilling to tell her sisters about?

They seemed preoccupied with each other, so Narcissa was able to stealthily sneak down the quiet corridor behind them. Their chatter was too far away to hear, but it was easy to hear that they were laughing. Cissy was quite angry. Why hadn't she known about this mysterious person Dromeda was holding hands with? She continued to creep along the corridor after them, still unable to see who the boy was and only catching snippets of their conversation.

They abruptly stopped near to the Slytherin common room, and Narcissa had to quickly duck around a turn in the hall. Peering around the bend, she was now able to see the boy's face – and it was a Muggle-born!

Narcissa was horrified. Her sister was holding hands with a Mudblood? How could she?

Cissy tried to calm herself. Maybe it was a mistake. Maybe Dromeda was just friends with this pig (though that would be bad enough by Black standards). Cissy just had to know why she was mingling with a Muggle-born.

Now she could hear them clearly. "Guess I'll see you tomorrow," said Andromeda, smiling in a dopy way that made Cissy want to vomit.

"You bet. Just meet me at the kitchens after class, okay?" the Mudblood boy, Edward Tonks, replied. Cissy scowled. She didn't like their friendliness.

"Okay, that's fine. See you!" Dromeda smiled.

"See you," Cissy tried to keep from gasping in shock as they started leaning in towards each other. She was going to kiss him – Narcissa knew it. She couldn't have her sister kissing a Mudblood boy – she was a pureblood, for God's sake! She had to stop this.

"Dromeda!" Cissy cried as she ran out towards the embracing couple. Andromeda pulled away from the Mudblood, and her eyes widened in shock as she saw the horror on Cissy's face.

"How could you?"

* * *

Andromeda quickly started to chase after her sister, who was running away, forgetting Ted completely. "Cissy! Come back!" she called as she sprinted after her. "Please!"

Abruptly Narcissa stopped, and turned to face the tear-stained face of her sister. She scowled unhappily. "How could you do this? He's a Muggle-born!"

"I know, Cissy, I know!" wept Andromeda with tears streaming. "He's Muggle-born. I'm not supposed to. I get it!"

"Then why are you doing this? You were – you were," Narcissa's voice lowered to a whisper, "You were going to kiss him! Why?"

"Please, Cissy, just – don't tell anyone else, okay?"

"Why should I do anything you ask?" said Narcissa self-righteously. "I think the family deserves to know that you're embarrassing all of us."

"No, Cissy, please don't!" cried Andromeda pleadingly. She was now openly weeping with despair, and simply could not believe her bad luck. Although, she should've expected this to happen at some point.

"I don't see why not. You've deceived us, Dromeda – I'm just making sure you're not anymore," Narcissa felt betrayed and hurt – she wanted Dromeda to feel the same pain she did.

But it was clear Dromeda was much more unhinged about the latest discovery than Cissy. She gripped Narcissa's arm desperately. "Cissy, don't you know what will happen to me if you tell them? Bella will hate me. Mum and dad will be so mad – they might even disown me!" her brown eyes were wild with fear.

Narcissa hesitated uncertainly. "Fine," she finally muttered, "I won't tell them about your little kiss. But you have to stop this silliness with that filthy Mudblood!"

"But Cissy, I can't," said Dromeda with melancholy. "I think – well, I think that I love him."

Tears trickled down both of their faces. Dromeda saw that Narcissa had no idea what to do. In her mind, she feverishly hoped that perhaps Narcissa would let her and Ted stay together, at least for a little while.

Cissy was silenced by thought. She loved her sister, and wanted her to be happy, but she simply couldn't understand her attraction to one of those pigs. But after some pondering, she sighed in defeat. 'Very well," she said quietly, "you can continue with your stupid Mudblood, and I won't tell."

Quickly she hurried away from her relieved sister, with her vision blurring from the tears now falling.

* * *

Narcissa allowed Andromeda to stay with her beloved Ted. But it was clear that things would never be the same for the two sisters again. Narcissa became quiet and reserved, and had difficulty talking to her family without her words becoming clipped and choked with sadness at her deception. Many a time they saw her shoot a deadly glare at Andromeda, who replied with a look of sadness. Meanwhile, Narcissa continued to be frustrated with her love-struck sister, and would reprimand her about the forbidden relationship constantly. But out of love she kept it a secret, no matter how much it tore her heart to deceive her family. One the other hand, Andromeda felt terrible about the strain she was putting her beloved little sister through – but she wanted to be with Ted so badly, she kept on forcing Narcissa into secrecy. The very first rift had formed between the sisters, and had weakened the once strong relationship between Cissy and Dromeda. However, the stress became too much for poor torn Cissy, and she had to crack eventually…


	5. Chapter 5

Narcissa kept the secret, and well. But nearly three years later, things started to heat up.

Bellatrix sat in the living room of their house, absent-mindedly playing with her wand. Cissy sat near to her, brushing her hair and checking her reflection in her prized talking mirror. Bella was about nineteen years old, and already infatuated in the dark arts. Cissy was about to start her fifth year at Hogwarts, and was overjoyed. Though that wasn't just because of her age. Last year had been Dromeda's final year at Hogwarts, so Narcissa no longer had to see her on a daily basis.

Bella watched a rat crawl into a hole in the wall. She glared at it fiercely and shouted, "Accio rat!" The rodent went flying into her outstretched hand.

Cissy peered up with interest. She hated rats, but she couldn't help be worried about what Bellatrix might do. That summer, she'd been acting strangely – she spent a lot of time in her room and seemed oddly distant to her family.

Bella looked at Cissy with a mischievous half smile on her face. "Do you like rats, Cissy?" she said malevolently.

"No! I hate them," Narcissa shuddered. She was suddenly frightened that her sister would throw the rat at her for some kind of funny prank.

"Hmm. Well, how do you think it'd like this?" Bellatrix pointed her wand at the rat, screwed up her face in concentration, and said, "Imperio!"

The rat jerked up. Pointing her wand at the now zombie-like rat, Bellatrix moved it across the floor. Keeping her concentration expertly, Bella made the rodent do a series of tumbles and jumps. Narcissa had quite some difficulty holding in her giggles at the dancing rat.

But Bella wasn't finished yet. She now used her wand to force the rat into slamming into the walls, and Cissy jumped with surprise as it crashed into a vase, shattering it and covering its pelt in broken glass. Cissy had thought the tumbling and jumping was funny – but this was just cruel. "Bella, stop!" she cried.

Bella brought the rat back onto her lap, and then released the curse. But the mad gleam in her dark eyes had not faded. Staring at the rat with a cruel glint her eyes such as Narcissa rarely saw, she pointed her wand at the rat once again and shouted, "Crucio!"

Instantly the rat started writhing around in pain. Bellatrix stared at it gleefully, seeming to enjoy its pain. Cissy's mouth fell open in horror, and she felt terrified tears start to slip down her face. She suddenly realized that she was screaming. How could Bella torture such an innocent creature?

Still practicing her curse, Bella turned to Cissy. "Would you like me to stop?"

"Yes, Bella, please!" Narcissa cried, and Bellatrix release it from the curse. The rat scampered away hurriedly.

'But I thought you hated rats," Bella queried with an amused smile on her face.

"Yes, I do, but…" Narcissa struggled to find the right words, "but does it really have to suffer?"

"But Cissy, wouldn't you want something you hate to be in pain?"

Narcissa didn't really understand what she was getting at, but she knew that she was very uncomfortable with this situation. "No!" she replied. "Why does my hatred of it mean it has to suffer for no real reason?"

Bella's amused smile turned grey and grim. "I guess you don't understand, then."

Cissy looked at her, puzzled and worried.

"I should have known that you would fail," Bellatrix said with an air of disappointed sadness.

"Bella, what is going on with you?"

Bella sighed and looked at her wand. "I have to show you something, Cissy. Come with me." She grabbed Cissy's arm and pulled her over to a tapestry of the Black family tree, which mirrored the one in Aunt Walburga's house. There were some scorch marks where those few disowned members of their family had been burned out by Aunt Walburga. Since their tapestry mirrored hers under an enchantment, when she burned someone off of the tapestry, then a scorch mark appeared on theirs too.

"You see, this isn't just about rats, Narcissa." Bellatrix started her speech. "It's about Muggles and Muggle-borns, and the Dark Lord. As members of the Black family, we hate Muggles and Muggle-borns, and stay away from them along with Half-bloods and Half-breeds. But we aren't willing to get rid of them, despite what vile and lowly creatures they are. You do think they are vile and lowly, right?"

"Of course," said Cissy instantly. She wasn't lying either – she had been raised in the Black household, and thus had the same opinions her family had about Muggles and Muggle-borns.

Bellatrix continued. "So, even though we hate them, we don't take any real action against getting rid of them. But the Dark Lord, he plans on doing great things for wizards like us, Narcissa. Such great things, he is going to do!" Her eyes shone with a feverish light and excitement that made her look quite mad. Of course, she had been mad for a while.

"I have already joined him on his path to greatness. He is teaching me so many incredible things, and we are going to change the world for pureblood wizards! And in his band of followers, I can tell I am by far the most talented. I'm even better than Lucius Malfoy. Yes, your precious Lucius has joined the Dark Lord as well!" Cissy felt herself blushing. Bellatrix's arrogance could sometimes make her cruel.

"I was hoping you would join us. I know Andromeda would not – she has always had foolish sympathies for such low-lives. But I had hope for you, Narcissa. I had faith that you would understand how the lowly creatures, like rats, that we hate, must suffer. But alas, you did not understand. So I assume you will not be one of us."

Cissy felt afraid. She'd never seen Bella so motivated and – though she hated to admit it – frightening. She agreed that Muggles and Muggle-borns were despicable, but Bella was right – she didn't understand Bellatrix's long to make them suffer for their own hatred of them. She started to feel faint with fear for – and of – her sister. She was afraid of the monster her sister was starting to become. How people change, in such a short time! But perhaps she had always been one, just deep down inside, when people rarely saw it. Narcissa suddenly needed to be away from Bella. "I'm going upstairs," she said hurriedly, her voice breaking with sadness. Bella seemed to notice that something was wrong, and she want to rush after her fleeing younger sister. However, Bella knew that Narcissa probably wanted to speak with Dromeda now. "Just as well," she muttered to herself. "I don't want to be with her either." So, she followed up the stairs, but decided to go to her own room to practice more spells.

Cissy fled up the stairs. But to her surprise, there was no Andromeda around there. She looked in Dromeda's room, and her own room, and all of the others, but it appeared that there was no Dromeda to console her after her disastrous talk with Bellatrix. Meanwhile, she heard the front door of her house slowly creak open, and then shut. Intrigued, Narcissa retreated back down the stairs to see what was going on.

Coming through the door snuck Andromeda, hopeful that no one had noticed her lateness. Unfortunately, someone had. Narcissa rushed to confront her sister about this latest disobedience. However, as she did so, she was distracted by something glinting on her sister's finger. It was a ring!

Cissy was shocked beyond belief. Her mouth fell open with disbelief and she felt her world spin. She struggled to find words, and finally managed a stuttered, "You're m-m-marrying the f-filth!"

Dromeda hastily tried to calm Narcissa down. "Cissy, I know you're angry, but you have to understand what he means to me…"

"You're a blood traitor!" Cissy spat out, quite loudly. Dromeda continued trying to console her, but it was futile. "You're destroying this family!"

Unfortunately, Bellatrix had heard the ruckus, and descended down the stairs. Shocked, she saw Dromeda standing in the door, looking like she just got back. Bellatrix was confused and annoyed with her more rebellious sister. "Dromeda, what have you been doing?"

Cissy whirled around to face her. Her face was stained with tears and she was shuddering. Before she could stop herself, she blurted, "Dromeda's going to marry a Mudblood!"

Bellatrix's face turned monstrous with horrified rage, as Dromeda felt her world fall apart.


	6. Chapter 6

Back again! Hope you enjoy this chapter.

* * *

Bella strutted forward, her face turned grotesque with monstrous fury. "What!" she spat.

Dromeda felt cornered and terrified. But she regained her composure and confidence. Besides, she was tired of having to comply with Bella's tyrant-like way of forcing her ideals. "Yes, I am going to marry someone Muggle-born."

"Why? Why would you do this?" Bella was beyond belief and seriously angry. "You're a Black, for God's sake! And you're dirtying the blood of this family!"

"I'm sick of all this pureblood mania!" said Andromeda. "Why does it matter that he has a Muggle family?"

"Because we hate Muggles! They are stupid and dirty and he's basically one of them!"

"Well, I love him, okay!" Dromeda shouted. "You wouldn't know what love is though, would you."

"Dromeda! You know she's engaged to Rodolphus Lestrange." Cissy couldn't help but intervene.

"I know, Cissy. But I don't think she really loves him." Though they were spiteful words, Dromeda was tired of Bella's unkind opinion about her choices.

"Of course I don't love him, you little twit," Bella hissed. "But I went and married him anyway, because I care about this family's reputation. Unlike you, marrying a filthy Mudblood!"

"Don't call him that!" Dromeda yelled.

'Well why shouldn't I? That's what he is! A despicable, good-for-nothing Mudblood!"

Dromeda shrieked with rage and quickly pulled her wand out. "Impendimenta!" she shouted. But Bellatrix, who had been training at combat for years, saw it coming and quickly jumped out of the way. There was a flurry of curses and jinxes as the two sisters fought, while Cissy cowered in a corner. Finally, Bellatrix emerged victorious, while Dromeda lay on the floor. Bella triumphantly shouted, "CRUCIO!" Dromeda immediately started writhing and screaming in pain. Bellatrix stood over her, stony-faced with eyes of hatred. Cissy gasped and stood wide-eyed and mute with terror. Dromeda cried out with the pain inflicted on her by the curse, and from the horrible realization that her sister would torture her just because of this.

"See! Do you see how this will end?" Bellatrix's wand was fixated on Andromeda, who was still twitching with agony. "The true purebloods will always conquer the blood traitors and the Mudbloods. And that is just what will happen to you, sister or not!"

"Bella, stop it! Let her go!" Cissy, regaining her courage, ran over and pushed Bellatrix. It was not a very hard push, but Bella momentarily lost her concentration and Dromeda was freed from the curse. She shakily got to her feet again and pointed her wand at Bella, ensuring that she could not curse her again. She trembled both from the trauma of experiencing the Cruciatus curse and from anger over her sister's reaction. "I will not put up with this family's crazy ideals anymore. I'm going to marry Ted, and I don't care if you don't like it."

"Dromeda, do you seriously think our parents are going to be fine with this?" Bella said. "You'll be disowned, of course, as you should be. Vile blood traitor, you are."

For a moment Dromeda was stalled. It was guaranteed that she would lose Bellatrix, but did she really want to lose her mother and father as well? She contemplated what it would be like to have no family but Ted. There would be no father to give her away at her wedding, and no Bella to be her bridesmaid. And what if she lost Narcissa too? If she had children, there would be no sisters to comfort her during pregnancy, or help her name the baby, or give her advise to raise it. And she wouldn't know their children either. Tears came to Andromeda's eyes as she thought about a future with no family. It would be unbearable.

But how could she live without Ted? Could Andromeda really leave him to stay with her unlovable, discriminating family? She loved Ted from the bottom of her heart, and wanted to be with him forever. They had a future now – maybe they would have children together. They would have a house together, where their children could get swings and play with toys. And they would go to Hogwarts too, and learn the same spells that she had. And then perhaps her child would have a grandchild too – the possibilities for the future were endless. Dromeda desperately wanted that future with Ted, where she could be happy. She'd never truly been happy with her family, as she was always the strange child, the odd one out. Maybe it was time to make a change. Even if she lost her family, who cares – if they truly loved her, they would support her with her decision to marry Ted. If they disowned her, it didn't matter, because they didn't really love her. She'd made up her mind.

"I don't care if I'm disowned," she started. "I want to be with Ted. If you really care about me, then you'll keep me. But either way, I'm going to marry him."

Bella's face grew red with anger at her defeat. But inwardly, she was dismayed and upset – she couldn't live with her sister after she betrayed her like this, so she would have to loose her. And no matter how cruel she was, it still hurt to loose a sister. "Go ahead then," she said, her voice crackling with outrage and sadness. "But I am going to tell the family. And even if you aren't disowned, which you will be, you are dead to me."

"Very well," said Dromeda, struggling to stay polite with the emotion in her voice.

Bellatrix turned to the silently weeping Narcissa, who had been watching the spectacle with horror and hopelessness. "What about you, Cissy?"

Cissy looked bewildered to both of her sisters. She didn't want any part of this! "What do you mean, Bella?"

"I mean, are you going to stay with this family, or are you going to side with the blood traitor? You have to choose."

"Bella, don't make her choose between…" but Dromeda was silenced by Bella. "She has to choose where her loyalties lie!" she interrupted.

"But I can't choose!" Narcissa cried sorrowfully. "I love both of you!"

"You have to choose! If you keep on talking to her, then you're the same kind of blood traitor that she is!"

Narcissa knew she was trapped. On one hand, she could choose Dromeda. She loved her sister dearly, and didn't want to loose her. She couldn't bear to part with her sister. But if she chose Andromeda, she would loose Bellatrix too, and maybe even her family too. She couldn't be disowned by her entire family! And Lucius Malfoy would never want to be with a blood traitor. If she chose Dromeda, her entire family life would be destroyed. It was a choice between loosing one sister that she loved very much, or loosing her entire family. She knew what she had to do, even if it pained her.

"Dromeda," she began quietly, "I really do love you. But I have to choose my family."

Dromeda's eyes blurred with tears. But she stayed strong. "I understand, Cissy."

"Now go! Leave this house, you aren't wanted here!" Bellatrix barked. "You are dead to the House of Black!"

"Goodbye, Dromeda," Cissy whispered.

And with that final note, Andromeda left the Black family, and never returned.

* * *

Narcissa, Bellatrix, their parents, their cousins Sirius and Regulus, and their Aunt and Uncle were stood in front of the Black family tapestry in Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place. Narcissa and Druella were teary-eyed, while Cygnus was stony-faced and Bella's angry. She had kept to herself lately, practicing spells in her room and ignoring her younger sister. She was still upset that Narcissa had kept Andromeda's secret for so long.

"I don't see why we have to burn her off the tapestry," said an eight-year-old Sirius irritably. "She was just marrying who she loved. Nothing wrong with that."

"Sirius!" Aunt Walburga exclaimed, ashamed at Sirius' rebellious words. "There is everything wrong with that. She is dirtying our bloodline, and she has to be disowned! Just like any of you youngsters will be if you do the same. Fortunately, Bellatrix is about to make a nice, respectable marriage." Bellatrix smiled with pride, but it was a faint smile. She was distracted by the current task at hand.

"So. Who is going to do this?" asked Uncle Orion. "I think Walburga should, because she's the head of this family".

"No, I don't think so," said Aunt Walburga. "Cygnus should. He was the father." Cissy noted the 'was' with pain. Dromeda really wasn't a part of this family anymore.

"Perhaps so," said Cygnus. "But maybe it should be one of the girls. They were closest to her, after all. Narcissa?"

"I don't want to do it!" Cissy exclaimed. Her family looked puzzled and a little bit scornful, so she corrected herself. "I mean, I'm still young. It should be Bellatrix."

"I'll do it," Bella offered.

"That's a good idea. All in favour?" asked Walburga.

Everyone seemed to agree.

Bella pointed her wand at the tapestry and calmed herself. Cissy had to turn away from the scene, as did Druella. Finally, sparks shot from Bella's wand and blasted the tapestry, and Andromeda Black was no more.


	7. Chapter 7

Sorry this is late! It may be a bit blah, but it's necessary. Just keep reading!

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And such was the story of how Dromeda had given up her entire life for a new one, and then lost that one too. Dromeda was torn from her memories back to her crippling reality – now, she had no family. Her beloved Ted had been killed by those terrible Snatchers, and now Nymphadora and her husband had been killed during this battle. Andromeda had no one, absolutely no one, but her grandson Teddy.

They were now at the castle, and Andromeda had to calm herself for this. The group navigated through the halls of the damaged school, and they came to the Great Hall, where the fallen were laid out on tables and families were there grieving. Andromeda saw Dora and Remus on a far table, and hurried over to them.

Suddenly, she had fresh tears to cry. Seeing her young daughter, so unmoving and cold, and yet vulnerable and beautiful, was too much for her again. She bent over in sorrow and succumbed to her grief. She'd lost a family for the chance to start her own – and now that one was gone as well.

But now Teddy was tugging on a lock of her hair, and she was distracted enough to rise out of her overpowering grief. She struggled against her sadness and stopped the flow of tears, and instead chose to look at her daughter's beautiful young face, now preserved forever in its glory. She was too young to die, and now Dromeda would never see her smile again. She was so cold. She shivered and pressed Teddy closer to her. Tears trickled down her face once again, and she didn't stop them flowing. Instead, she pressed her face against Teddy's short hair. She was so tired of being alone, of trying to stop her sadness and stay strong. There was no one but Teddy to see her cry now.

But from across the Great Hall, someone did see her cry. Narcissa couldn't help feeling horrible for her sister's current condition. Her sister was so strong and brave. Narcissa had been stressed beyond belief just thinking about Draco being in trouble, and yet somehow Andromeda had stopped her sobbing, and was now comforting the baby she held! She instinctively wanted to comfort her sister, but she wasn't sure what to do. She'd been disowned from the family, and Narcissa hadn't spoken to her in what felt like decades. She didn't really know her.

* * *

After Andromeda was expelled from the family. Narcissa's life changed drastically. Once she'd graduated from Hogwarts, she'd finally captured Lucius Malfoy's heart, and they'd married. Unfortunately, Lucius Malfoy was one of Lord Voldemort's most prized Death Eaters. Narcissa didn't like Muggles and Muggle-borns, but she'd never liked what the Dark Lord did to achieve his power. She was all for treating Muggle-borns how they should be treated, but she didn't want violence and killing to do that! But Narcissa was distracted by her triumphant marriage and love for Lucius, so she did nothing to stop his pursuing the Dark Lord. Quietly, though, she was overjoyed when he was defeated by that little boy. Narcissa disliked the Dark Lord's methods, and what he did to her Lucius.

Narcissa had Draco, and she'd never known that she could love one little lump so very much. Draco became her life, and she'd do anything for him. Once again, she could not even conceive of how much it must pain Andromeda to have lost her daughter. Narcissa could never loose Draco.

And so when the Dark Lord rose again, Narcissa was more afraid than ever before. And this time, he was involving Lucius even more. Narcissa was terrified. She wanted to leave, to take Draco and flee, but she couldn't. She may not have been a Death Eater herself, but she and Draco knew too much to be kept alive. If they ran away, or switched sides, they would be found easily, and killed. And of course, Draco didn't want to run away. He wanted to fight for the Dark Lord, and that chilled Narcissa's heart with fear. When Lucius was put in Azkaban, Narcissa knew she had no choice but to side with the Dark Lord. She had to play the part of dedicated servant – and well.

However, when the Dark Lord started involving Draco directly, she knew she had to stand up to him, despite her fear. But she couldn't confront him openly - that would spell her doom. So she went to Severus, her old school friend.

This past year had been the worst. She hadn't slept out of fear for Draco and Lucius. She felt extremely uncomfortable with the Dark Lord using her house as headquarters, and especially so with her mad sister there too. Over the years after Andromeda's departure she and Bellatrix had grown apart, so being forced together like this was not ideal for Narcissa. But she was too afraid to say anything about it. She was just Lucius' cold, vain wife, and anything she said would be ridiculed, or worse. She especially hated the murder that went on there, and was haunted by them every night. Narcissa regretted her allegiance to the Dark Lord, and so never became one of his Death Eaters.

This last battle, though, she had changed. She could no longer bear to have her family in danger, especially Draco, and had spent the battle searching for him. So when Harry Potter had lain on the ground, and whispered that Draco was alive, she had lied to save him. Because despite her disdain for Muggles and Muggle-borns, she cared more for Draco than the Dark Lord. And if preserving Harry Potter would help her find him, then so be it. Every one else had fought for the Dark Lord, but Narcissa had always been fighting her own battle within. Now, one side had triumphed, and it was time to save her family.

And she had won. Draco was safe, and Lucius hadn't fought, instead aiding her in finding him. But it appeared others in her family had not emerged victorious, like her – Bellatrix lay slain, and now Andromeda had lost her remaining family. She now had just one.

But although she and her sister had not spoken in years, she understood her pain. After all, it was love for her family that had governed Narcissa's choices. Finally, she understood why Andromeda had married a Mudblood – for love. Narcissa had disobeyed and lied to the Dark Lord out of love. At last, she could understand. Andromeda's grief, she could understand too. Narcissa had sacrificed herself to avoid feeling that same grief. She longed to comfort Andromeda, but the rift was too big. It was too late to apologize for abandoning her, and words to sway her grief would not bring her loved ones back.

But was the rift too big? A lot of boundaries had fallen down in this war, and Narcissa had even found herself helping the boy that the Dark Lord longed to destroy. She had saved him, and changed the course of the war. Perhaps it was time to change things.

And in doing one of the strangest, bravest, and most unexplainable things she'd done since the start of the war, Narcissa crossed the Great Hall, and sat down by her last sister.


	8. Chapter 8

This is the end! I'm so excited. Are you excited? Sorry this took me so long to write, I was very busy with school and homework. Anyway, enjoy!

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Andromeda was still drowning in melancholy and tears when she felt a living presence beside her. Turning her head, she saw Narcissa's form next to her, with a concerned expression on her aged but still beautiful face. She wasn't entirely sure what to do – she hadn't spoken to her sister in years, and though Narcissa had left her for Bellatrix, she wasn't sure how Narcissa felt about that. Though in her mind Narcissa was the one who left her, to Narcissa, it might have been Andromeda who betrayed them. Dromeda was very unsure of how she should be acting towards her sister.

Narcissa seemed unsure of her actions too. She knew nothing she could ever say would make Dromeda's situation better. So, she simply wrapped her arm around her sister's shivering shoulders and pulled her close.

Fresh tears fell from Dromeda's eyes. She felt embarrassed, but they wouldn't stop. However, Narcissa seemed to understand. It was as though they were sisters again.

"Here. Let me take this little guy," Cissy saw Dromeda was struggling with Teddy, and so she gathered the pudgy baby in her arms. "What's his name, again?"

"Edward, like his grandfather." Cissy felt fresh shame remembering Dromeda's husband, the cause of all this strife. "But Dora and Remus wanted to nickname him Teddy. Suits him, doesn't it?" The happy-looking baby did resemble a large, cuddly teddy bear. Except for the fact that he was multi-colored – already his hair had changed from unhappy red to a cheerful shade of bright yellow. Narcissa smiled, amused at his strange Metamorphmagus abilities. She wondered if he would act a bit doglike too, considering his father was a werewolf. For a moment she shuddered at his unfortunate parentage, but then remembered that she was trying to change her ways. She didn't want to be a prejudiced pureblood anymore.

Narcissa sighed, consumed with her guilt-ridden memories. "I must apologize for my behavior over these past decades," she started uneasily. "I was blindsided by our family's strange ideals, and I forgot about how important our sisterhood is. I shouldn't have abandoned you along with the family – but you must understand my choices. I could either loose one sister, or my whole family. It was very difficult for me, as much as it was difficult for you."

Dromeda hesitated before replying. "I suppose I do understand why you made that decision. But you have to understand how horrible it feels to be abandoned by the people you have known since birth."

Cissy nodded. "I know. I am sorry."

"However, I guess I should have given you some warning, or some other option. It wasn't right for me to just leave everyone…" she broke off into fresh sobs, remembering everything she had left behind. "Sometimes, I wish I had never left the House of Black!"

Narcissa was stunned, and didn't know what to say. "But how? How can you think that?"

Dromeda felt so very guilty for uttering those dark thoughts. "Everyone from my new family is dead. I finally get over the loss of my parents and sisters, and then everyone I love dies! And if I hadn't made this new family – then I would still have one. Now, I have nothing!"

Narcissa felt it would be difficult to console her sister in this state. However, she understood the decisions of Andromeda now. "But Dromeda, you loved him. And even if you loved someone, and lost them, isn't it better than never loving at all?"

Dromeda had stopped her sobbing and was now listening intently. "And now, even though they are gone, at least you still have Teddy. And me. You have me as your sister now."

And, still clutching Teddy, the two sisters embraced. Dromeda felt as though an enormous weight had been lifted off of her shoulders, and now she was free from her terrible thoughts. She had her sister back too. Though she was sorrowful, a ray of hope remained for the future. Still, though, there was someone missing from the family reunion.

"Cissy, I may be crazy for saying this, but I think we should say goodbye to Bella." Dromeda was surprised at her own words – Bella had murdered her daughter! – but she could not suppress what she felt. "She may not be a good person, but she deserves our sorrow. She may not have liked it, but for a time, she was my sister."

Cissy nodded. She wanted to mourn Bella, but felt awkward saying goodbye in front of people who had lost family members. However, with Andromeda, she could do it. "Lets, go," she said, and took Andromeda's hand with her free arm. Together they walked over to where Bellatrix's body lay, far away from the bodies of the winners. She was not treated with the same respect as they were. Dromeda felt strange, staring down at her deceased sister. She felt both sorrowful and victorious.

"She really was a terrible person. A psychopath, really," she muttered to herself. "But I really am going to miss the sister I knew when I was young. This girl is not my sister."

Cissy couldn't help overhearing Dromeda's mutterings. "No, she isn't your sister. But she was mine, for a while. She has changed from the girl we knew, but she deserves a goodbye."

"Very well," Dromeda agreed. So they both kneeled down by their fallen sister, and silently said goodbye. As they stood up, their hands joined again. Dromeda was grateful that Cissy was there. She had her favorite sister back again, though she couldn't help regretting that Bellatrix had died on bad terms with Dromeda. And she was still filled with rage at her daughter's death. But she was too tired for vengeful thoughts, and so she and Narcissa walked back to Dora and Remus.

For a while, the two sisters talked. After many, many years of neglect, they had a lot to catch up on. Though many memories were painful for both of them, it was good to finally tell someone about their painful past. Narcissa's memories of the Dark Lord were painful because of the fear she'd felt at that time – she had lived in constant terror for herself and her family. And Dromeda's were painful because they reminded her of those who she had so recently lost. But the sisters were glad to have each other again.

"Well, I should probably be getting home now. I have things to do, funerals to plan," Dromeda said with dark humor. "You should go back to your family too."

"Are you sure?" Narcissa asked with concern.

"Yes, Teddy should go to bed soon. But walk with me to the portkey."

They walked together to the boot that would be transporting Andromeda home. She held Teddy in her arms and gave Narcissa a parting hug. "I'll see you again soon, I guess."

"Are you certain that you don't want me to come home with you?" asked Narcissa

No, you should spend some time with your family. You've all had a difficult time," Andromeda said casually. "Besides, I've got little Teddy to look after me now, haven't I?"

"And you'll be alright?" Narcissa couldn't help feeling worried for Dromeda in her current state.

"Don't worry about me. I'll be absolutely fine." And as she grabbed the portkey and felt it transporting her and Teddy back home, Dromeda knew that she would be.

* * *

The end - hope you've enjoyed! Make sure to review if you liked it, or any constructive criticism. Thank you!


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